STARC
by EmeraldWings1992
Summary: The Phantom is dead-assassinated in his jail cell. The Interpol investigation into his organization is spurred forward by his death, especially when they discover that Apollo Justice is in danger. Everything comes to a head on the anniversary of Clay's death at the Cosmos Space Center, but what does Kaolin Loam, a school teacher, have to do with all of this? Later Chapters rated M
1. Murder

**A/N:** Hey guys! So I've had this planned for a while, even outlined for a while. But I've been so busy with other fanfiction "series" on my account that I've kind of neglected this one! Well, no more!

Another AMAZING thing I just realized, I've reached thirty completed stories. YAY!

Finally, yes, I'm still working on _Turnabout Connection_ with Wolfiered23, but I've decided to work on this when our writing times don't match up. I _could_ work on _Turnabout Hearts – Distance,_ the story that comes after _Turnabout Connection,_ but I don't want to cause confusion.

Finally, I don't know how visiting people in jail works, especially as a Prosecutor, so I'm just flying by the seat of my pants for this chapter.

Yes. This is set eight years after Dual Destinies.

Well, that's it. ONWARD!

…

Chapter One: Murder

It was late, well past visiting hours in the jail. The desk sergeant, Officer Dee Sek, leaned back in his chair, studying the crossword puzzle in today's newspaper.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed over him, blocking his light. Sek quickly looked up, spotting a man who he hadn't seen in person for eight years.

"P-Prosecutor Blackquill!?" he squeaked, sitting up straight. The tall, Twisted Samurai glared down at him from the corner of his eye.

"Sek. Long time, no see," he said with a smirk. He then crossed his arms. "I'm here to speak to the Phantom."

"Th-this late, sir?" the officer asked. Blackquill's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Sek's eyes darted to the man's wrists. Despite knowing that he was innocent, Blackquill had been one of the more… scary inmates at the prison. Every other time Sek had run into him, he had been wearing handcuffs.

Not this time, of course.

"R-right. I'll just…" Sek trailed off as he pressed a few buttons on his phone. Another officer appeared at the door next to the desk and waved Blackquill forward. The prosecutor nodded slightly to Sek and followed after the second officer.

…

Blackquill was lead into an interrogation room. The Phantom, wearing the mask of Bobby Fulbright, sat at the table, his hands handcuffed to the surface. Blackquill waved the officer away and sat across from the criminal spy.

"Haven't you questioned me enough, Blackquill?" the Phantom asked.

"Not quite," Blackquill said, pulling a file out and placing it onto the table in front of him, opening it up. He flipped to the page he needed and leaned forward.

…

The questioning took close to two hours. Both men had strong enough wills though, meaning neither broke or gave up. Finally, Blackquill glanced at his watch before finally standing, closing the file.

"That's enough," he said. He stepped around the table, clasping the shoulder of the Phantom as he walked past him, and rapped his knuckles against the locked door. As the officer on the other side opened the door, he glanced back at the Phantom.

"Sleep tight," he said, sweeping out of the room.

…

 _Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Click._

" _Hello?"_

" _Hey Mr. Wright."_

" _Oh, hey Apollo. Everything okay? It's kind of late…"_

" _Uh, yeah. I've uh… been putting this off, heh. Sorry. You don't have a case lined up for me tomorrow, do you?"_

" _Not at all. Everything okay?"_

" _Yeah. I just… well, tomorrow is… it's December 15th…"_

" _I know. You're not going by yourself this year, or you?"_

" _No. Ema's coming too. She got off of work and everything."_

" _That's good. We'll hold down the fort here tomorrow. Don't worry."_

" _I'll try not to, haha."_

" _Have a good night, Apollo."_

" _You too, Mr. Wright."_

 _Click._

The man sat back, lowering his headphones from his ears and watched the monitor as their target plugged in his cell, closed his laptop, then stood from his desk, moving out of the camera's line of vision.

"Perfect. We'll make our move tomorrow," he said, turning to the man who sat next to him in the small, enclosed space they occupied.

…

In the wee hours of the morning, while it was still dark out, the Phantom lurched from his bed. He stumbled towards the bars of his cell, only for his knees to buckle.

His heart stopped even before he hit the ground.

…

 **A/N:** Dun dun DUUUUUUN!


	2. Anniversary

**A/N:** Here's another chapter! By the way, forgot to mention in the first chapter. SoJ never happened (as my regular readers should know). Apollo is engaged to Ema Skye, who is now a forensic detective, knows Trucy is his sister and Thalassa is his mother, and Zeus Justice is Apollo's father. And alive (see _Turnabout Escape_ for that one). The house where Apollo and Ema live was left to Apollo by Chron Justice, his grandfather. Chron had been a very successful Prosecutor in his day before he was forced to resign after being diagnosed with stage three brain cancer. The house is further away from the city, which means Apollo finally went and got his driver's license (see _Moving Forward_ for this one). Oh, and the house is a beach house. Because Apollo deserves one after all of the collective crap both me and Capcom has put him through in this universe.

Oh, fair warning… this story gets… kind of dark in later chapters. I'll post warnings for each chapter it happens in, but I figured I'd warn everyone now before you got too invested in the story. Speaking of which, I gotta go change the rating to M…

Alright, I'm done. ONWARDS!

…

Chapter Two: Anniversary

Apollo Justice did not sleep well that night. Despite the cozy bed and the comfort of his fiancé cuddled up to him, there was a feeling of dread in his stomach that would just not go away.

Because of his trouble sleeping, he was awake to shut off the alarm clock when it went off. Ema Skye yawned and rolled away from him, stretching. Apollo smiled slightly at that, sitting up in bed.

"Morning," he said.

"Morning," Ema replied with a smile, looking over at him as she sat up. Her eyebrows drew together in worry. "You didn't sleep well last night, did you?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Apollo asked. Ema moved across the bed and sat right behind him, rubbing his shoulders.

"You're pale, with bags under your eyes," she said.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right," Apollo sighed. Ema shook her head at that before standing, taking his hand and pulling him up.

"I understand why. Come on, let's get ready for the day," she said, pulling him into the bathroom.

…

The school bus slowly moved through the city traffic, filled with high school students. In the back of the bus, a large group of students started singing inappropriate songs, loudly. A woman, in her early thirties with long, brown, wavy hair, sighed, standing up from one of the front seats and storming into the back, yelling at them. They immediately quieted down, and she returned to the front, sitting back in her own seat. She then glanced across the aisle at the seat across from her.

Sitting there was a man, about her age. His black, messy hair looked messier than normal, and his shoulders were shaking slightly as her stared out the window.

"Kao?" she called. No answer. "Kaolin?" she reached over, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"No!" he suddenly cried, thrashing away and falling out of his seat. The entire bus went silent as they watched one of their teachers hit the ground. The woman quickly pulled him back up and into her own seat.

"Whoa, Kao. You okay?" she demanded. The man quickly looked over at her, and for the first time, she noticed his right eye was bandaged.

"Y-yeah. Just… headaches and such," he muttered. The woman studied him closer, before gently touching the bandage.

"What happened here?" she asked. Kaolin smiled weakly, catching her hand.

"Nothing, Chelsea. I uh… just splashed some hot sauce in my eye last night. It'll be okay," he said. Chelsea didn't look convinced, but she didn't press the matter about his eye.

"You really don't seem okay, though," Chelsea mused. Kaolin shrugged.

"I just feel under the weather. I tried to call out, remember?" he said.

"Yeah, but me, or any substitute, knows astrology quite like you do," Chelsea said with a grin. It was true. When she had arrived at the school that morning, the office told her about Kaolin's attempt. She had personally called him and begged him to come in. After a little bit, he finally broke down and said that he'd be there before the bus left for the field trip.

Finally, the bus reached its location: the Cosmos Space Center. The state of the art building was surrounded by trees, and the GYAXA logo stood proudly on the building's silver exterior.

The bus pulled to the front and stopped. Kaolin took a deep breath before standing, stepping off the bus. Chelsea moved to the front and counted heads as each student stepped off the bus, while Kaolin wrangled them all together, keeping them from wondering off. As the last student stepped off the bus, a red robot with a blue, happy face rolled over to them.

"Hello! Welcome!" it said in a chipper voice. "Welcome to the Cosmos Space Station! You must be the group from Prime Airy High School. My name's Ponco!" Ponco said in an excited voice. Chelsea stepped forward.

"Hello, Ponco," she said warmly. I'm Chelsea Ruth, one of the teachers and chaperones. Are you going to be showing us around the station?" she asked.

"Yes!" Ponco said excitedly, spinning around with her arms in the air excitedly. She then stopped. "I just need to know how many are in the school group and get facial recognition of each student and teacher before we can begin." With that, she scanned Chelsea's face. She then rolled to each student, asking their name. One of the boys smirked as she rolled over to him.

"Name, please!" she said brightly.

"Dumb Ass," he said with a grin, trying to be clever.

"N-" Chelsea started, but was stopped by Kaolin putting a hand on her shoulder. "What?"

"He doesn't realize what he's doing. Let him keep it," Kao said with a grin.

"Okay, Dumb Ass. Now I'll scan your face," Ponco said brightly. The boy's jaw dropped, while the rest of the students snickered.

"W-wait! I want to change that!" he said.

"Nope. You made your bed, now lay in it," Kaolin said with a smirk.

"Oh! I nearly forgot one!" Ponco said, rolling up to the man. "Name please!"

"Kaolin Loam," he said. His voice trembled slightly as he looked down at the robot.

"Okay, Mr. Loam. Let me scan your face!" It took everything in Kaolin not to turn his face away before the little robot finished. She finally did, though.

"All set! Now, let's—Mr. Justice! Miss. Skye!" the little robot cut off, rolling over to two people who had just walked up. Apollo turned at the sound of his name and smiled at the little robot.

"Hello, Ponco. How are you?" he asked.

"Great! I have a tour for Prime Airy High School today. We will be visiting your favorite room, too," she said. Apollo winced at those last words. "If Ms. Ruth and Mr. Loam don't mind, perhaps you can join us?"

Apollo and Ema looked up at the two teachers who had just walked over with their students. Mr. Loam, Apollo could see, was very tense. In fact, it was making his bracelet squeeze his wrist slightly. Ms. Ruth, on the other hand, smiled warmly.

"Of course! The more the merrier, right Kao?" she asked, looking over at the other teacher. He smiled, though it seemed more like a grimace.

"Sure," he said.

"Great! Mr. Justice used to visit all the time, and knows most everyone who works here. I bet he can tell you just as much as I could!" Ponco said, leading the group into the Space Center. As they walked forward, two men joined their group. The first had already been in the lobby, studying a holographic globe. He had light brown, almost dirty blond spiky hair, and was wearing a pair of odd sunglasses that formed an x over his forehead.

The other jogged to catch up with them, having been outside. His black hair was gelled back, and his suit was wrinkle free. Both men noticed each other right away, but the rest of the group was oblivious to their presence.

…

 **A/N:** And the plot thickens…


	3. Investigation

**A/N:** I'm back!

So, despite SoJ never happening, I will use tiny elements from it. Like things about Blackquill, since, despite being a filler case, case four of SoJ did teach us a bit more about him.

Not much to say here, so… ONWARD!

…

Chapter Three: Investigation

Blackquill stalked through the lobby of the prison, Taka perched on his shoulder. He had woken up this morning to the Chief Prosecutor calling his phone, demanded he come down to this place.

The prison, of all places.

He hated this place with a _passion_. If it wasn't for how serious the Chief Prosecutor had sounded, he would have asked if they could have met somewhere else.

Seated at the desk was the Desk Sargent from last night, Officer Dee Sek. Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth was standing next to the desk, his arms crossed. He looked up at the younger man in black as he walked over.

"Edgeworth-sensei," he said with a nod to his boss. He looked at Sek. "Desk."

"Blackquill, this is no time for jokes," Edgeworth said seriously. He looked at Sek. "Are you sure it was him who came yesterday?"

Sek studied the man in front of him. Blackquill quirked an eyebrow at that, looking at Edgeworth questioningly.

"I-I'm sure, sir. Although he didn't have the bird or the feather. And… he had a ring," Sek said, looking back at Edgeworth. Blackquill's already raised eyebrow disappeared under his unruly bangs at that description, and he turned back to Edgeworth.

"What is he talking about?" he asked. Edgeworth sighed, turning to his subordinate.

"At least two guards place you here last night… only two hours before the Phantom died. Poisoned."

Blackquill stiffened.

"The Phantom… dead?" he asked in a low voice. He had been questioning the man for the past eight years, trying to get something, _anything_ , from the man about the organization he worked with. So far, he had gotten nothing, but he was so close. For all of that progress to… vanish. Now, of all times?

"Yes. Blackquill, what were you doing here last night?" Edgeworth asked. The Twisted Samurai scowled at the question.

"I wasn't here, Sensei," he replied. "I never come to the prison to question the Phantom, or any other prisoner." He threw a sharp look at Officer Sek. "As _all_ of the guards should know. I usually have them brought to my office." Sek slid down in his chair, almost as though to hide from the man.

"Alright. Then where were you between the times of eight and ten last night?" Edgeworth asked. Simon thought back to the previous night.

"I was at a Rakugo performance by the Toneido troupe. Uendo Toneido can confirm this. Before that, I had stopped for dinner at Whet Soba, for which Bucky Whet can confirm," he said. Edgeworth studied the man before him for a few minutes before nodding.

"I believe you. That leaves the question of who was here last night," Edgeworth said.

"I'd imagine that would be obvious," Blackquill said, tapping on his chin thoughtfully. "Who has already made an attempt on that man's life?"

Edgeworth looked at him for a moment, before nodding.

"The organization he works for. And we already know they're skilled at impersonation."

"Exactly."

"For what it's worth, sirs… the, er… man who was here last night made a call from one of the phones down the hall," Sek said. Blackquill looked over at the phones he mentioned, while Edgeworth looked at the desk jockey, confused.

"Why would he use one of those, instead of his cell?" he asked.

"No cell service," Blackquill said as he walked over to the phones. "Edgeworth-sensei, perhaps we should have someone pull up the records on these phones?"

"Well?" Edgeworth asked, looking once more at Dee Sek. "Can you do that?"

"Yes, sir," Sek said, turning his focus on his computer.

…

"Apparently the cell he called was located at Crescent Beach," Edgeworth said as weaved through LA traffic. Blackquill sat in the passenger seat, with Taka perched on his knee, and Kay Faraday, Edgeworth's now Legal Aid, sat in the back. Two squad cars followed Edgeworth's car.

"There's not much at Crescent Beach. Especially this time of year," Kay said, leaning forward to talk to the men.

"Exactly. Just a handful of houses," Edgeworth said.

"We might find something in one of those houses," Blackquill added, just as Edgeworth turned off of the main road. A few minutes later, he pulled to a stop in front of the small walking path that lead onto the private stretch of beach. The three exited the car, while Detective Dick Gumshoe, Detective Klu Hunter, and a few other officers parked and got out behind them.

They investigated this area first. It was Detective Hunter who found evidence of some kind of vehicle parked in an out of the way spot for a long time. There were indents in the grass from the tires that were deeper than the tire tracks to and from that spot, and plenty of cigarette butts of the same brand strewn about.

From there, they realized that the closest house was a two story, white, modern house, situated on the beach. Edgeworth instantly recognized it, especially after seeing the name on the mailbox.

"'Justice'? This is Dr. Skye's and Mr. Justice's house," he said.

"And it's the one closest to the location that vehicle was at. Going by the spacing between the wheels, I'd say that vehicle was big enough for a surveillance van," Hunter added. Edgeworth frowned, looking over the house. All of the lights were off, and there was only one car in the drive way; Apollo's dark red one. Ema's car was missing, though. He looked over at Gumshoe.

"Is Ema at work?" he asked, already pulling out his cellphone.

"No, sir. She called off today," Gumshoe replied. "Something to do with helping Mr. Justice through something."

"Hm," the Chief Prosecutor hummed, calling Ema's number.

"I assume you're calling her for permission to search the house?" Blackquill asked. Edgeworth nodded, then frowned as Ema's phone went straight to voicemail.

"Odd…"

"Well, we're searching their house for their safety. I'm sure they won't mind!" Kay said, walking over to the door and dropping to one knee in front of it. From the small bag on her hip, she pulled out two pins, and got to work on the lock. Edgeworth sighed at that, while Blackquill smirked.

A moment later, there was a quiet click, and Kay stood, pushing open the door.

"Ta-da!" she said brightly.

The group moved into the house, and Gumshoe let out a low whistle. The foyer led immediately into the living room, where one of the walls was actually a large window, looking out over the water. Black leather couches and chairs, an old, solid oak coffee table, and an old television made up the furniture of the living room. Off of that room was an eat-in kitchen with a large island in the middle. Two coffee mugs and two bowls sat in the sink, waiting to be washed when the occupants of the house returned home. Back in the foyer was a staircase that lead to the second floor.

Up here were five doors. The one at the end, which was open, was a bathroom, while a second open one lead into the Master Room. The last three doors were closed.

Edgeworth opened one to reveal a small, basic bedroom. Going by the neatly made bed and the layer of dust, it was unused. _Probably a guest bedroom._

The next door he attempted to open was locked. Feeling along the top of the door frame, he found a key and used it, gaining entry.

It was Ema's home lab.

"Ugh, another locked door," he heard from the hall. Exiting the lab, he turned to see Kay picking the lock of the last door. He walked over and felt the top of the door frame, finding another key, just as he heard a click from the door knob, and Kay pushed open the door.

"You just like picking locks, don't you?" he asked his legal aid, holding up the key. Kay grinned with a shrug.

"Maybe."

Inside was a study. Just like the living room, one of the walls was actually a window, facing the water. Two more of the walls were covered in bookshelves: the one behind the desk was full of new looking law books (and… manga?), the other full of both old and new case book. Edgeworth recognized the older ones as prosecutor issued. Curious, he walked over and pulled one down, opening it.

"' _Chron Justice_.' Hmm…. That sounds familiar," he mused.

"Oh! He was a pretty prominent Prosecutor back in his day. If it hadn't been for Manfred von Karma, Chron Justice probably would have been pretty famous in his own right for his skill in both investigating and in trial," Detective Hunter suddenly said, walking over.

"Ah, yes. I remember now. My father actually faced Prosecutor Justice in court once," Edgeworth suddenly said, thinking back to his father's case files. "I never even thought of Apollo Justice being related to him. But then, this house makes a lot more sense now," Edgeworth added, thinking about how the lawyers of the Wright Anything Agency were anything but rich. Especially since they take on mostly pro bono cases.

"Sir, the rest of the house is clean," Gumshoe said as he entered the study. He was holding a small device that was used for searching for bugs.

Before anyone could say anything, the device emitted a beep.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Dumb Shoe?" Blackquill snapped. "Search this room, too!"

Gumshoe nodded, walking around the room. Edgeworth, Kay, Blackquill, and Hunter stood to the side, watching.

As soon as Gumshoe pointed the device at the desk, and the bookshelf behind it, the little device went crazy. Gumshoe immediately pointed it at the red cellphone that sat, charging, on the desk surface. Edgeworth walked over and picked it up.

 _Mr. Justice's phone. He must have forgotten it._ Edgeworth thought, removing the back that covered the battery. He then removed the battery to reveal a small, flat chip stuck to the interior of the phone.

"An audio transmitter!" Hunter gasped. He snapped on a pair of gloves and carefully removed it from the phone. Gumshoe, however, was moving around the desk, the device still going nuts.

"I think there's more than one," he said, before looking under the desk. Kay bounced over and looked under with him.

"You're right, Gummy!" she gasped, using a flashlight from her bag and pointing it up. "Here's another audio transmitter!"

Both detective and aid moved out of the way to allow Hunter to collect that one as well. Blackquill, however, was looking between the bookshelf and the red laptop that sat on the desk.

"Let me see that," he said, taking the bug-finding device before Gumshoe could protest. He walked over to the bookshelf, tsking when noticing more dust built up on the law book then the manga. _At least he has_ good _taste in manga…_ Blackquill thought as he recognized a few of the titles.

That dust, however, is what made him realize something was off. In front of one of the law books, the dust was slightly disturbed. He waved the device in front of that spot, and it went off for a third time. Pushing the book aside, he found something a little more serious than an audio transmitter.

"Is that… a video camera?" Edgeworth asked, moving forward.

"Yes. And with its position, the person watching can see everything that might be on Justice-dono's laptop," Blackquill said, before smirking. "Let's hope he never looked at anything unsavory, for his sake," he said before laughing. Hunter rolled his eyes, collecting the video camera. Gumshoe took the device and did another sweep, of both the room and the house, but found nothing.

"I don't understand," Edgeworth finally said. "Why spy on Mr. Justice? And only in the study?"

"Justice-dono's best friend was Clay Terran," Blackquill suddenly said. "And Terran was killed due to his involvement of the HAT-2 launch. He had classified information, info they probably never got thanks to the Phantom's rash actions." The Twisted Samurai suddenly looked up at Edgeworth. "Perhaps they believe Justice-dono has this information?"

"Which means Mr. Justice is in danger," Edgeworth said, already pulling out his phone. "I'm calling Wright."

…

 **A/N:** Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUN!


	4. Hostage

**A/N:** Here we go with another one!

…

Chapter Four: Hostage

"And here is boarding lounge one!" Ponco announced as she led the group into a brightly lit room. The one side of it was curved, with window-looking screens on it, and tables lined along it. On the center screen was a young man with short, messy black hair, just barely controlled by an old GYAXA visor. Her wore a blue jumpsuit under one of the slightly darker blue Space Station Jackets, and a bandage over his nose. He was saluting the camera with a wide, warm grin, his brown eyes glowing with excitement.

Apollo smiled warmly at the picture.

"Who's that?" one of the students asked.

"That's Clay Terran. He was an astronaut at this space station. He wanted nothing more to go into space," Apollo said, not looking at the student. The sadness was clear in his voice. Ema took his hand.

"Mr. Justice is right!" Ponco said. "Mr. Terran was more than just that though. He was like family to the crew here. While he was still in middle and high school, he and Mr. Justice would visit the Space Station all the time. And they were best friends!" Ponco said.

"What happened to him?" another student asked. Ponco grew subdued.

"That's a good question, Dumb Ass," she said, still using the name he gave her. "Mr. Terran was to finally achieve his dream and go to space on the HAT-2 mission, along with Soloman Starbuck. But there was a bomb threat, so the previous director, Yuri Cosmos, came up with a plan along with Mr. Terran to fake the launch. Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned, and Mr. Terran was killed by the international spy known only as The Phantom."

"Today is the eighth year anniversary of his death," Apollo added, looking up at the middle screen again. The two screens on either side slowly cycled through different pictures of Clay, and some of them even included Apollo.

"He kind of looks like—" Chelsea started, turning to Kaolin, only to find him not there. Looking around, she spotted him near the door, his back to the room. She walked over, noticing his one visible eye was closed, and he had his arms wrapped around his stomach. His face was pale, with a green tinge to it. "Hey, you okay?" she asked him, putting a hand on his shoulder. The man jumped slightly, before looking at her.

"Y-yeah. A little nauseous. But I'm fine," he said with a weak smile. Apollo, who had been looking at the pictures, froze for a moment, his eyes widening. He glanced over his shoulder at the two teachers, surprised by how familiar that phrase sounded from the man he'd never met before. He looked back up at the pictures of Clay and shook his head.

 _Wishful thinking…_ he berated himself.

Just then, the man with the slicked back, black hair, asked a question. "What was the mission of the HAT-2 that made it a target?" he asked.

"I'm sorry sir, but that information is classified!" Ponco said brightly. She then froze, looking at him. "I'm sorry, sir," she repeated, "but I don't recognize you. Is he with you, Ms. Ruth?"

Chelsea looked up upon hearing her name, and walked back over, looking at the man.

"No. I've never seen him before," Chelsea said.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to—Oh!" Ponco cut herself off with a squeak as the power suddenly went out, including the screens with the pictures of Clay on them. There was a shuffle of movement, and a cry of fear. From the door, which had already been open, came the sound of numerous footsteps.

By the time the red emergency lights came on, the room was much more crowded. Kaolin had been pushed further into the room by a group of men, all dressed like the first in immaculate suites.

The worst part, however, was that the first was now holding one of the high school students, a girl. He had one arm wrapped around her neck, with a gun to her head.

"Police! Drop your weapon!" Ema was the first to react, pulling her police issued handgun from her bag. The man looked at her with a smirk, pressing the gun closer to the student's head.

"Ah-ah, Officer. I'm the one calling the shots here," he said, nodding to one of the other men who had entered the room when it was dark. He walked over to Ema. "Now, give the nice man your gun, and she won't get hurt."

Ema ground her teeth together, but didn't see much of another choice. She handed the man her gun, and he walked back over to his comrades.

"Now then, I really don't want to hurt this young lady here. She's not our target." The man looked up from where he was holding the girl, and looked directly at Apollo. "You are, Defense Attorney Apollo Justice."

"Wh-what?" Apollo gasped.

"You know something we want to know. Give yourself in, quietly, and nothing will happen to this young lady," he said. Everyone looked from the student to the attorney in red. Apollo himself looked at the student, before sighing, his shoulders slumping.

"Fine."

"Apollo, don't!" Ema gasped, grabbing his wrist. Apollo put a gentle hand over hers, detaching her grip.

"There's no other way, Ema," he said, giving her a gentle kiss. He then walked over. One of the men grabbed him roughly, while the first pushed the high school student towards the teachers. Chelsea caught her, hugging the crying girl tightly.

"Now wha—" before Apollo could finish his question, the man holding him shoved a strong smelling rag over his mouth and nose, holding it tightly in place.

"Apollo!" Ema cried, starting forward. The first man raised his gun, training it on the group, and she froze, powerless to do nothing but watch as Apollo struggled against the hold. His movements quickly became weak, until finally, he fell limp in the man's grip, the chloroform on the rag having taken effect.

…

 **A/N:** I feel… like these chapters are kind of short…


	5. Interrogation

**A/N:** Here we go! Since the chapters were so short, I went ahead and combined two into one.

 **WARNING: The second half of this chapter contains violence as this IS a story about a terrorist group. Please use your own discretion if you wish to continue.**

…

Chapter Five: Interrogation

Edgeworth, Blackquill, Gumshoe, and Kay quickly made their way to the Wright Anything Agency, while Hunter returned to the precinct in order to trace the bugs found in Apollo's study. Phoenix had been worried when Edgeworth had called, but it was nothing compared to how the prosecutors found the lawyers when they entered the office.

Athena and Trucy were sitting on the couch, with Phoenix standing behind it, gripping the back tightly, his knuckles white. All three were riveted to the television, which was set to the news.

" _As of now, there is not a lot of information known about the growing situation. No demands have been made. What_ is _known is that the hostages include a high school class, and that the culprits are not robots this time. All we know about the culprits are that they are armed and considered highly dangerous,"_ an anchor, who was standing in front of the Space Station, announced.

"Daddy… do you think Apollo is okay?" Trucy asked quietly.

"I hope so," Phoenix said, his voice tight.

"The Space Station? Justice-dono is _there?_ " Blackquill demanded, stepping forward. The girls kept their attention on the television, while Phoenix turned to face the group.

"Yes. He goes every year," Phoenix said, before shaking his head. "I just… can't believe something like this is happening… _again_."

Edgeworth, meanwhile, had taken a step back, dialing a number on his phone. He hit the call button and placed it to his ear.

It went straight to voicemail. With a sigh, he put the phone back in his pocket and walked over to Phoenix, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know you're worried, Wright, but we need to search the office," he said. Phoenix frowned slightly, turning to him.

"What are you looking for?" he asked.

"At this point, audio or visual transmitters. Bugs," Edgeworth said with a sigh, before explaining what they found in Apollo's study. Phoenix's eyes widened, then grew thoughtful.

"Come to think of it… the office was broken into about a month ago," Phoenix said. "One of Apollo's files was taken, but—" he cut off as a beeping erupted from Apollo's desk. They turned to see Gumshoe standing over there, the beeping Bug Tracker in his hands. Blackquill walked over and, working with Gumshoe, found an audio transmitter in his desk phone, and a video camera in the picture behind his desk.

"Here, too?" Edgeworth asked, coming over. Blackquill nodded, sealing the bag.

"Yes."

"Kay, take this to Hunter, please?" Edgeworth asked, taking the baggy and giving it to the woman.

"Yes, sir!" she said, taking it and rushing out.

As she ran out, two people came in. Phoenix looked up, and his heart sank.

"Mr. Wright, please tell me Apollo came in today. Please tell me he's not at the Space Station," Thalassa Justice, previously known as Thalassa Gramarye, begged, latching onto the attorney's arm. Her husband and Apollo's father, Zeus, stood by the door. His face was white and tense, his hands clenching and unclenching into fists. Phoenix bit his lip.

"I'm sorry, Thalassa, but…" Phoenix trailed off. Thalassa gasped, her hands jumping to in front of her mouth. Zeus came over and wrapped his arm around her. He then looked around, realizing that there was not one, but two Prosecutor's in the office, along with a detective who was hovering around Apollo's desk.

"What's going on?" he demanded, looking at Edgeworth. "Is Apollo in danger?"

"Well…" Gumshoe muttered, rubbing the back of his head. Even Edgeworth hesitated. It was Blackquill, however, who stepped forward.

"We have reason to believe that Justice-dono is the target of those holding the Station hostage, as well as evidence," he admitted.

"But why?" Zeus demanded. "Why would anyone target him?"

Blackquill glanced up at Edgeworth, who nodded.

"Justice-dono's best friend was Clay Terran, an astronaut who was killed by the international spy, The Phantom," Blackquill started. "Terran knew confidential information, and we think this group believes he told Justice-dono."

"Oh my gosh…" Thalassa gasped, tears of fear welling in her eyes. "That means he's in even more danger then we thought…"

"Is this true?" Phoenix demanded, turning to Edgeworth.

"Unfortunately. Along with what we found here, we found two more listening devices, and another camera, at his home," Edgeworth explained to Apollo's parents. Blackquill stepped forward, putting his right fist to his chest, over his heart.

"Do not worry," he told the scared parents. "I give you my word that I will bring Justice-dono home, safe."

…

Consciousness slowly returned to Apollo. He rolled his head, side to side for a moment, before lifting it from where his chin rested on his chest. After another moment, he realized he was tied to a chair, his arms handcuffed behind his back.

He cautiously looked around, taking in the fact that they were no longer in Boarding Lounge One. In fact, Apollo didn't recognize this room, though he realized it was higher up, due to the view of the tops of the trees from the window.

There were only two men in the room with him. The first was the man who had held the high schooler hostage. Apollo pegged him as the leader. The second man was both taller and broader then the first, and was cracking his knuckles as he watched the red-clad man.

"Nice of you to rejoin us, Mr. Justice," the first man said. Apollo looked back at him. Fear rolled in his stomach, along with confusion, but he managed to keep these emotions off of his face. The man smirked. "You must be confused. You see, we just have a few questions for you," he explained. "Answer them truthfully, and we'll let you free."

Apollo's bracelet squeezed his wrist. It was the lightest pressure, almost non-existent, but Apollo felt it. The man's hand had given the slightest twitch on 'we'll let you free.'

They were lying. A lump formed in Apollo's throat.

"Now then, as you know, HAT-2 was intended to go to the International Space Station, and your best friend knew the access codes for the computers there." The man leaned close to Apollo, invading his personal space. "We need those codes."

 _Clay knew something like that…?_ Apollo thought in confusion. _I didn't even know… oh-no…_

"I-I… don't know. I didn't even know that's where it was going…" Apollo said sincerely. The man frowned, his eyebrows drawing together.

"A shame, Mr. Justice," the man stepped back and stood up straight. "I thought you, of all people, would know that lying is bad."

Before Apollo could answer, the bigger man stepped forward and punched Apollo in the stomach. Apollo heaved forward, straining against his shoulders, as he gasped for air.

…

Agent Shi-Long Lang of Interpol had been the second man to join Ponco's group. When the leader had taken the girl hostage, he knew it'd be pointless to reveal himself. He also had no choice but to let that Attorney be taken by those men. However, when the room had gone dark, he had taken advantage of that moment to hide. Now, the men had the robot, class, teachers, and officer sitting on the floor in a group.

Lang's eyes roamed the armed men, searching for the weakest link. Finally, he spotted what he was looking for and took action.

The young culprit had no clue what hit him before everything went dark.

Lang dragged him out of the boarding lounge and into an empty room, handcuffing him.

It was about time for him to hold his own little interrogation.

…

Ema kept a close eye on the men, watching as they paced back and forth. Her heart was pounding as she thought of Apollo.

 _Please… please be okay…_ she thought as she slowly reached her hand in her bag. She quickly found her cell. Making sure none of the men were watching her, she looked down, ready to open the messenger app.

' _No service'_

 _Damn!_ She thought. _So much for contacting someone… What would these men even want with Apollo in the first place?_

With a soft sigh, she looked over at the high school class. Ms. Ruth, the female teacher, was sitting with the class, whispering softly to them, trying to keep them calm.

Mr. Loam, on the other hand, was watching the men wearily. He looked pale and shaky, clearly scared. But… and this was the odd part to Ema, there was another emotion clear in his eyes.

Guilt.

…

Apollo leaned forward in the chair, gasping for air, his weight straining against his shoulders. His left eye throbbed, and he could already feel it swelling. His torso throbbed too from repeated punches, and it was hard to breath without a sharp pain lancing up and down his right side.

 _Probably… a cracked rib…_ he thought.

"Mr. Justice, you are wearing my patience thin," the leader said, grabbing Apollo's chin and forcing him to look up.

"I'm telling you… I don't know anything," Apollo gasped. He then frowned. "And even if I did… you bastards killed my best friend. I wouldn't tell you a thing," he spat. The man _tsked_ , letting go of Apollo's chin and stepping back. He nodded to the bigger man, who stepped forward, kneeling in front of Apollo.

"We usually don't like to do it this way, Mr. Justice. Given time, we would chip away at your psych, rather than your body. However, we are short on time," the leader said as the big guy grabbed Apollo's right leg, just below the knee, as though to stabilize his leg. Apollo's good eye widened at that.

"Wait, what are you—" Apollo's words were cut off by a scream of pain as the man slammed the heel of his hand into the side of Apollo's kneecap, dislocating it.

…

 **A/N:** I'm sorry! I'm sorry! But I wanted to write about the Phantom's organization and it's a terrorist group and I'm trying to be realistic without going overboard and I'm so sorry Apollo!


	6. Alive

**A/N:** *hiding from projectiles*Hey guys! Er… here's the next chapter! It has a big reveal that I'm sure some of you've already figured out… you don't count, Wolfie, since you knew from the beginning, heh.

I decided to make this T again, but each chapter with a warning is technically rated M. I did this because with an M rating, this story won't show up in normal searches or the archive, and I think more than the one person who's reading and reviewing would enjoy this.

Miles Edgeworth's height is found on his wikia page. And I had decided on Agent Brooks's height before I knew Edgeworth's, so that was pure coincidence.

Robin Trio is from my other story _Yatagarasu's New Beginning._ He's the second member of the Yatagarasu, and will be important in the sequel to this. His outfit here is different from his heist outfit, and he's 22.

 **WARNING: This chapter contains images of violence. It is rated M. Read at your own risk.**

Alright now, ONWARD!

…

Chapter Six: Alive

Edgeworth, Blackquill, Gumshoe, and Phoenix quickly made it to the space station. At this point it was surrounded by not only news trucks and vans (complete with a few helicopters buzzing around it) but hostage and riot police as well. The riot police were focused on the crowed of concerned loved ones, trying to keep frantic parents a safe distance away from the building.

"Mr. Edgeworth!" someone suddenly yelled, walking swiftly over to the four men. The Chief Prosecutor turned to find himself face to face with a tall blonde woman, the badge of a US Marshal swinging wildly from her neck as she jogged over to them. Usually dressed in faded jeans, a tee-shirt, and a leather jacket with her hair pulled up in a high ponytail, the Marshal was dressed in business attire today. This clearly interrupted something important.

"Agent Brooks. How can I be of service?" Edgeworth asked. Brooks stopped in front of the man, standing up to her full height of an impressive 5'10", the same exact height as the Chief Prosecutor himself.

"I know you, of all people, know what's going on in there," Brooks spat. "And one of my witnesses is stuck in there. He, more than anyone else, is in the most danger."

Color seemed to drain from Edgeworth's face, worrying the others that were with him even more.

"No… you don't mean-? But what is he doing _here_ , of all places?" Edgeworth demanded.

"His job, unfortunately," Brooks growled, turning back to look at the building. "Of course they didn't know about his past. That was classified. But… of all the odds…"

"Excuse me, pal, but who are you talking about?" Gumshoe asked. Brooks looked back at him and the group, before letting vent a small sigh.

"His current name… is Kaolin Loam. But Prosecutor Edgeworth here knows his true identity," the woman explained. Phoenix turned to look at his old friend.

"Edgeworth?" he asked.

…

Kaolin tried to keep his head down. He could feel his entire body trembling, and nausea rolled through his stomach every few minutes as he watched the men with guns move back and forth.

 _This is my fault. All of it…_ he thought to himself, before turning his eyes to Chelsea and the class. Sitting with them, rubbing one of the girl's backs, was Officer Skye. At least, he assumed she was an officer, from the way he has confronted the men, and how in control she seemed right now. As he watched, her eyes traveled to the doors, the same ones the men had dragged Apollo through after he fell unconscious.

 _Oh god… Apollo. What are they doing to him right now?_ Kao clamped a hand over his mouth at another surge of guilt and nausea. His fingers brushed the medical tape keeping his eyepatch in place, and his eyes wondered over to Ponco.

 _There… there's only one way to make this right…_ He slowly lowered his hand from his mouth and touched Chelsea's shoulder, causing her to look at him.

"Kao?" she breathed, alarmed by the expression on his face. The paralyzing fear was gone, replaced by determination.

"I'm sorry," he breathed, before standing up.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing! Sit back down!" one of the men barked, whirling and training a gun on the man. He raised his hands in a non-threatening way.

"I can't. You have the wrong man. Apollo… he doesn't know a thing."

Every eye in the room was on him at this point. His heart pounded in his ears, and everything in the room suddenly looked a lot sharper.

"Excuse me?" the man holding the gun asked. "How would you know something like that? I doubt you've ever met that attorney before today."

"Actually… Apollo and I go way back," Kaolin said with a small smile. He then took a deep breath, carefully pealing the eyepatch off of his face. He then turned and looked at the little robot.

"Ponco, run your facial recognition software on me again," he said. The robot stared at him for a few minutes before gasping.

"You…! You're Clay Terran! You are alive!" the little robot rejoiced, spinning around excitedly, her arms in the air. Kaolin – no, Clay – smiled sadly at her.

Before anyone else could react, there was a flash of white, and a resounding smack echoing across the boarding lounge. Ema Skye stood in front of the surprised man.

"Do you know how much pain Apollo was in? _Is in!?_ Because of your 'death'?" she demanded. Clay blinked for a moment before turning to face the woman. A sad smile of recognition passed over his face.

"It's you. You're the moody detective he told me about…" his eyes flickered to her hand, spotting the small diamond ring on her left ring finger. "Congratulations… And… I'm sorry."

He turned back to the men, and stepped forward, keeping his hands above his head in surrender.

"I know there's no use in fighting or resisting," he said. "So… I'll come with you. Willingly."

The men looked at each other in surprise, before one smirked, grabbing Clay's arm.

"Well, well, who are we to look a gift horse in the mouth?" he said. "It seems Agent 369 was more incompetent then we thought. The rest of you, stay here," he snapped, before dragging Clay out of the boarding lounge.

…

Once Clay's captor reached the room where they were holding Apollo, the three men – _Agents? Like spies?_ Clay wondered – held a quick, impromptu meeting.

Clay was then forced into a chair sitting across from Apollo and tied to it.

The former astronaut felt bile rise in his throat at the sight of his best friend. The man in red was handcuffed to his chair, but all of his weight was hunched forward, straining at his shoulders. Although Clay couldn't see Apollo's face, he could see blood dripping onto the man's white collar. His right leg was held at an odd angle from the knee down, and Clay could hear a faint rattle from his friend's chest with each pained, shallow breath.

"Well, well, Mr. Justice. Look who's here," the leader said as the bigger man stepped behind Apollo, grabbing his bangs and pulling his head up. Clay gasped. Apollo was sporting a black eye that was swollen almost entirely shut, and the blood on his collar was coming from a badly split lip. Somehow, miraculously, they had left his nose alone.

"C-Clay?" Apollo slurred, his good eye squinting slightly. He then closed his eyes. "No… no, this can't be right… you… you were dead. I worked your case that first day…" he muttered to himself, his words punctured by pained gasps.

"It seems you were played, Mr. Justice," the leader said. "As were we."

"I went into witness protection," Clay said softly, not taking his eyes off of Apollo's glazed brown ones. Apollo stared at him, struggling to comprehend what was right before him.

Clay couldn't blame him.

"Well then, Mr. Terran. It seems your friend here doesn't know any of that confidential information locked in this head of yours," the leader said, tapping on Clay's head. He moved his head away slightly. "But that's fine. Because now, we have you."

"Don't tell them anything!" Apollo suddenly yelled, gripped by passion. He struggled against the handcuffs, painful puffs escaping him as he jostled his injured leg and pulled at the man's grip on his hair. "They're terrorists! Who knows what they'll d—" The man let go of Apollo's hair and clamped a hand over the attorney's mouth, his fingers digging into Apollo's cheek. Clay watched with wide eyes as Apollo continued to struggle, his shouts muffled.

"Well, Mr. Terran?" the leader asked, watching Clay's face. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Apollo. Apollo finally stopped, his nostrils flaring with each breath. But it was his eyes that swayed Clay from his resolve of cooperating. They were urgent and pleading. The message was clear.

 _Don't tell them, no matter what._

"Hmph. It's a good thing we kept Mr. Justice, then," the leader said, nodding to the man who was holding Apollo. "Perhaps seeing him suffer will make you talk."

Apollo's eyes rolled up to look at the man standing behind him, his eyes narrowed. The man smirked, keeping a hand over Apollo's mouth, and grabbing his nose with his other hand.

The effect was instant. Apollo bucked against his hands, twisting his head this way and that in an attempt to dislodge the man's hands.

 _H-he's smothering him! Oh god!_ Clay thought in alarm. Apollo had already been weakened and short of breath. This was probably pure torture for the man.

 _Don't tell them, no matter what._

That thought flashed across his mind.

"He will last between thirty to a hundred and eighty seconds without oxygen before he passes out," the leader said, watching Clay closely. "At the one-minute mark, his brain cells will begin dying, and at three minutes, the chances of lasting brain damage become very likely. If he survives past five minutes without breathing… well. He'll fall into a coma," the man chuckled. Clay felt sick.

He knew all of that. He learned all about the importance of oxygen on the brain and body when he was training to go into space. Still, to hear this man say it so nonchalantly… Clay heaved, his stomach emptying its meager contents onto the floor.

Apollo's struggles were growing weaker as his face started to turn blue, his eyes beginning to roll upwards.

…

Agent Lang quietly slipped out of the Space Station, pocketing his notes on what he learned.

 _STARC, huh?_

…

"Clay Terran didn't die the day the Phantom stabbed him," Edgeworth explained to Phoenix, Gumshoe, and Blackquill. "The blade was too short to do enough damage through the space suit, and the weight of the space suit was enough to keep the bleeding down. The weight was also enough to hide any weak pulse Mr. Terran might have had."

"But I thought you just said that the suit was too thick to cause any lasting damage, sir?" Gumshoe asked.

"He was still weak though," Phoenix realized before Edgeworth could answer. "He was oxygen deprived thanks to the ruptured tank on his suit, and exhausted after carrying Mr. Starbuck all the way back to the boarding lounge." He looked up at Edgeworth. "What happened after that?"

"The Phantom didn't notice that Mr. Terran wasn't dead, but forensic _did._ He found that odd, and called me straight away. That's why I had put a rush on getting him to the 'morgue.' That's also what aroused my suspicions of 'Detective Fulbright'," Edgeworth explained. Blackquill ground his teeth together. "Mr. Terran's lung had been pierced slightly, and his brain was beginning to react to the limited supply of oxygen, so the doctors put him in a medically induced coma for three days. During that time, I called the US Marshal's office, and got him immediately enrolled in the Witness Protection program."

"From there, Mr. Loam has been a high school astrology teacher," Agent Brooks said. "He called me last night, explaining about this field trip. I told him to call out, and he did. However, something changed his mind this morning, and since he's arrived, I haven't been able to contact him.

"That's because something is jamming the signals in and out. A nasty virus in the network, if I had to guess."

The group turned to the sound of a new voice, only to spot a tall, young man – college age – standing next to the newly arrived Kay. He was tapping away at an AceTablet, his eyes hidden by the brim of his fedora. He wore a black tee-shirt shirt with the universal stand-by/power symbol in dark green on it under a dark denim jacket, a pair of faded, blue jeans, and black sneakers. A dark green bandana with a cloud print was tied loosely around his neck.

"Robin?" Edgeworth gasped. "Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

Robin looked up from his tablet with a grin, the sun flashing off of a gold, three legged raven badge pinned to his fedora.

"It's Saturday, Mr. Edgeworth," he reminded the man. "Besides, Kay said you guys might need some help."

The prosecutor turned to look at his assistant.

"What? Obviously no one has gotten a visual on what's going on inside yet. And we need all the information we can get if we're to save the hostages, right?" she demanded.

Edgeworth sighed. She was right, of course. And he didn't know a hacker more skilled then the boy standing in front of him.

"Er, who's this?" Phoenix asked. Kay grinned, slinging an arm around the focused boy's shoulders.

"Robin Trio. He's a bit like my nephew or something," Kay said. Robin's lips quirked.

"Well, you did adopt me… _mom_ ," he said teasingly, not once looking up.

"Hey! I thought we agreed that you would never call me that!" Kay complained dropping her arm. Robin chuckled at that, then nodded.

"I'm in," he said, turning the tablet to face the others. There was about a hundred little thumbnails, all in color.

"There's the hostages," Edgeworth said, raising his glasses away from his squinting eyes to focus on the little images. "Any way to make it bigger?"

Robin simply tapped on the thumbnail indicated, and it took up the entire screen. The group watched the scene carefully. Phoenix felt sick when noticing Apollo was nowhere to be found in the group, although Ema was in the middle of the class with one of the teachers, trying to keep them calm.

"There's Loam," Brooks said, pointing to the man who had just stood up. He talked to one of the armed men for a moment, before pulling off his eyepatch and turning to Ponco. They watched as Ponco reacted happily, Ema slapped him, and he was dragged out of the room by one of the men. Working fast, Robin minimized that window and watched the thumbnails, tracking the two, until they went into a different room. Robin pulled this window up, and his stomach dropped.

The others crowded around him, soft gasps erupting from them. They had a clear view of Apollo, and the condition he was in.

"Jesus…" Edgeworth gasped. Phoenix quickly turned, stumbling a few steps away. Apollo was like a son to him, despite everything. To see him like that… _Oh god. Thalassa… Zeus… Trucy._ Phoenix sat and put his head between his knees, trying to calm his stomach.

They watched as Clay was tied to a chair, and a muscle bound man grabbed Apollo's hair, forcing his head up. There was a lot of talking between this.

"Any chance of getting audio?" Edgeworth asked Robin. Robin shook his head.

"Not here, no. No microphones," he said.

"What about in the boarding lounge?" Blackquill asked. Robin looked thoughtful.

"Perhaps. That robot… the Psychological Observation and Navigation Companion—" he began. Blackquill cleared his throat slightly.

"Just call her Ponco."

"Er… right. Ponco's not too different from Widget. Maybe I could—" he cut off as he looked back at the screen.

The man behind Apollo now had his hand clamped over the man's mouth and was holding his nose. Horror rolled through the group as his face turned blue, and his eyes began to roll upwards.

"Pretty boy," a voice suddenly barked from behind the group. They turned to see Agent Shi-Long Lang standing behind them, looking none the worse for wear.

"Agent Lang! How'd you get out?" Edgeworth asked, surprised. Lang pulled a scroll from his pocket, opening it and reading a few lines of script off of it.

"Lang Zi says: a large beast has more exits then one," he said, before allowing the scroll to snap closed.

"Er, excuse me?" Phoenix asked, quirking an eyebrow. Meanwhile, Edgeworth pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"There's an emergency exit," Lang said with a smirk, his sharp canines flashing.

"Then that's our way in," Blackquill said, stepping forward.

…

 **A/N:** I am sorry if Lang seems OOC. I haven't played either investigations game in…. years.


	7. Rescue

**A/N:** Alright guys! Second to last chapter!

Sorry about the delay. It's a combination of being super busy, having a few stories going at a time, my carpel tunnel, and… just not being all that motivated to finish this. It's nothing you all did, trust me! I've just been wanted to write fantasy a lot lately.

But I decided I will finish this today. And this is the second to last chapter. So only one more left to go!

 **WARNING: I'm not sure if this chapter would be rated M or not. Putting the warning just to be on the safe side.**

…

Chapter Seven: Rescue

After some discussion, it was decided that Blackquill would lead the rescue. He knew the place the best. Lang, Gumshoe, Hunter, and a squad of officers, both LAPD and Interpol, went with him.

Their first priority was to get the high school class out. Robin had done a quick sweep of the building using the surveillance and found that the rest of the building was empty, other than Boarding Lounge One, and the room where Apollo and Clay were being held. He had then hacked Ponco, but nothing useful was being said.

…

Ema and Chelsea continued to comfort the kids. Chelsea was still reeling from the fact that Kaolin Loam had actually been Clay Terran, the very same astronaut they had come here to learn about. It's no wonder he tried to call out…

Suddenly, Ponco rolled over to the two woman and leaned down. Looking up, Ema noticed something was… different about her.

Rather than the blue happy face, her screen was black with a gold, three legged raven emblem. Ema recognized it instantly.

"Keep everyone down until I tell you to," a very non-Ponco voice whispered to them through the speakers of the robot.

"Right," Ema said with a nod.

Almost immediately afterwards, officers swarmed the room. Blackquill was made to stay back, having no training in this part, and a gun fight broke out. Ema and Chelsea practically threw themselves over the students, while Ponco rolled to the front, using her metal body to protect them.

However, the spies didn't stand and fight. Almost as soon as they realized they were outnumbered, they escaped.

"Cowards!" Lang growled after them, before looking towards the group of hostages. Hunter ran over to them.

"Come on, let's go," he said, helping them up. A few of the officers came over, helping each of them get out.

…

"Okay, okay! I'll tell you!" Clay cried. "Just… please…"

The man smothering Apollo removed his hand from the attorney's mouth, and Apollo gasped for air, choking and spluttering as pain spiraled through his chest. It was clear that he was just clinging on to the last threads of consciousness.

"Go—" the leader stopped as his phone beeped. He pulled it out and checked it, before scowling.

"Leave the attorney. We're going," he said to his comrade. The man let go of Apollo's nose and walked over, lifting Clay over his shoulder and following the leader out.

"W-wait, what's going on!?" Clay gasped, surprised by this turn of events. Neither man answered him.

Apollo laboriously lifted his head, watching after them as he struggled for breath.

…

As soon as the last of the students made it to the police barrier and into the anxiously awaiting arms of their parents, there was a rumble, almost like thunder, from the building.

Suddenly, a black armored van shot out of the parking lot, crashed through the police barricade, and shot down the road at high speeds.

"The building is empty! They took Apollo and Clay," Robin reported, his eyes scanning over his AceTablet.

Blackquill, Edgeworth, and Brooks immediately got into the chief prosecutor's cherry red sports car and took off after the van.

…

Unfortunately, Robin had been wrong. There was still one more person in the building.

Apollo heard the rumbling, and his heart dropped into his stomach. Despite the pain lancing through his body, centering on his chest and leg, he struggled against the bonds keeping him in the chair.

Then the world exploded.

The next thing Apollo knew, he was laying sideways on the ground, still tied to the chair. Fire and smoke surrounded him, and he could barely breathe. His breath was even more labored, and he was in even more pain.

 _(This is it… I'm gonna die here…)_ he thought in panic.

…

With Edgeworth behind the wheel and a siren on top blaring, his car quickly caught up to the van.

"They're not going to pull over if we ask nicely," Brooks growled, watching the van.

"I know," Edgeworth replied.

"So how—" Blackquill, who was in the back, cut off as the back doors of the van suddenly popped open. A man, holding the top with one hand and a gun in the other, grinned viciously at them.

Then he started shooting at the car.

"Shit!" Brooks yelled as Edgeworth swerved, narrowly avoiding both the bullets and the guard rail.

"Amanda, you need to shoot the wheel out," Edgeworth said.

"What!?" the woman gasped, looking at him.

"You're the only one with any kind of firearm training," he said. He turned the wheel hard as the man began shooting at them again, crossing behind the van and to the other side of the road, again just narrowly avoiding the bullets.

"Right, right." Brooks pulled out her gun and checked it, making sure it was loaded, before flicking off the safety. "Just give me a clear shot."

Edgeworth nodded grimly and swerved yet again to the other side of the road as the man shot at them. This time, he wasn't fast enough. Bullets pierced the windshield, forcing the three to duck down and cover their heads. Edgeworth kept his head up just enough to see over the steering wheel, and scowled at the now missing windshield.

"That works too," Brooks said, cocking her pistol and taking aim over the dashboard. There was a tense moment, where the man in the van raised his gun once more, and Edgeworth had to fight the instinct to swerve.

Brooks shot. "MOVE!" she screamed. Edgeworth slammed the wheel to the left, dodging another hailstorm of bullets from the van. Then there was a loud BOOM! as one of the rear tires exploded.

The van lost control, sending the man flying from the back. It swerved first to the left, then the right, then jumped the guard rail and shot into the ditch beyond. Edgeworth screeched to a stop next to where the van vanished, throwing the car into park, and jumping out. Brooks and Blackquill quickly followed after him as he jumped the railing and skidded down the slope.

"Miles, down!" Brooks suddenly yelled as a man stumbled out from burning van, a gun in hand. Edgeworth hit the ground, rolling slightly. Brooks quickly took aim and shot the man in the thigh, making him drop. She then took lead, but no more men with guns appeared.

"Seems like the others got away while these acted as a distraction," Edgeworth said.

"Or a quick way to get Terran and Justice-dono out of there," Blackquill said. Brooks quickly glanced at him before moving forward.

"Mr. Loam?" she called as she approached the wreckage, still in the habit of calling the man by his fake name.

"Mr. Justice?" Edgeworth called, following her.

They heard a soft moaning from the other side of the van, and the trio quickly made their way over there.

Hands tied tightly behind his back, and a tight hood, designed to restrict sight and hearing, covering his head, Clay Terran laid on his side, curled in slightly on himself.

"Kao!" Brooks cried, running over to him. She quickly pulled the hood off his head, and Clay was left blinking in the brightly light, another moan escaping him. "Kao, are you okay?" Brooks asked, her protective instincts kicking into high gear.

"Apollo… did you find Apollo?" Clay asked, blinking up at her.

"No, but we haven't finished searching the wreckage yet," Edgeworth said, standing up straight and looking around as Brooks untied Clay's hands.

"What?" Clay asked, looking confused for a moment. Then horror crossed his face. "No! They never took him. They left him behind!" he said, struggling to sit up.

That's when they heard the explosion in the distance.

"Damn!" Blackquill was the first to react, spinning around and sprinting up the slope. Without even asking for permission, he jumped into the driver's seat of Edgeworth's car, where the keys were still in the ignition, spun the car around, and raced back towards the space station.

…

Blackquill slammed on the brakes, skidding to a stop in front of the station, which was a fiery inferno. Without thinking, he lunged out of the car and sprinted towards the building. Gumshoe, who was on the phone with Edgeworth, turned as the younger prosecutor rushed by him.

"Blackquill, wait!" Gumshoe called, only to be ignored as Blackquill entered the building. The smoke was black and thick, filling the halls just as fast as the flames were. Crouching low, his sleeve pressed over his mouth, the Twisted Samurai quickly made his way through the hall and up the stairs, trying to take the fastest route to where Robin's cameras had seen Apollo.

There were a few times where he had to take a detour, or was forced to climb over things, but finally, he reached the room.

"Justice-dono?" he called. He heard ragged, shallow breathing from the center of the room, and quickly made his towards it.

That's when he found Apollo. The attorney was still tied to the chair, laying on his side. His breathing labored and painful. He coughed feebly. Blackquill moved forward, quickly slicing through the ropes, kicking the chair away, and rolling Apollo onto his back.

 _(Split lip. Concussion. Bruising all over. Most likely a cracked or broken rib. Definitely a broken or dislocated knee… and smoke inhalation.)_

"B-Blackquill?" Apollo whispered. The prosecutor jumped slightly, looking back at the young man's face. His eyes were open slightly, but glazed. It was obvious he was just clinging to consciousness.

"I need you to stay awake. This is going to hurt," Blackquill said. Apollo nodded slightly, before screaming as Blackquill quickly transferred him to his back.

"You still with me, Justice-dono?" he asked once the young man was settled. Apollo was clenching his jacket tightly, his whole body shaking. After a moment, he felt Apollo nod against his shoulder, and let out a breath he didn't even realizing he was holding. "Good. Let's go."

His progress was slower than when he entered, but he moved as fast as he could. He was aware of each painful gasp and noise Apollo made, and could only hope he made it out in time for the attorney to get the medical help he so desperately needed.

Then he felt the young man's grip slacking on his jacket.

"Justice-dono, stay with me." No answer. "Justice-dono!" No answer. "APOLLO!" he roared. He felt the young man jump slightly, and the grip on his jacket tightened once more. _(I need to keep him awake. Perhaps by talking to him?)_

"This is the second bomb you've survived now, right?" he asked, grabbing the first topic that came to mind. Apollo let out a weak, painful chuckle.

"Yeah," he gasped. "Don't know if… I'm lucky… or unlucky…" he muttered.

"Perhaps a bit of both, like Wright-dono?" Blackquill suggested. Apollo groaned, but this time it was in an almost comical 'don't joke' way, instead of pain. Blackquill smirked at that.

Then there was a loud crack from above. "Wh-what… was that…?" Apollo muttered. Blackquill looked up, just in time to see a large section of the ceiling on fire. Before he could move, there was another loud crack, and it collapsed, landing right on top of the two and burying them in flaming debris.

…

 **A/N:** CLIFF HANGER!

I swear I won't leave you as long as I did last time, heh.


	8. Truth

**A/N:** Here we go with the last chapter! And I want to thank everyone who stuck with me through this. Sorry again for the delay in updating!

…

Chapter Ten: Truth

Clay Terran was not okay as Agent Amanda Brooks lead him into the hospital. Physically, he was fine. Just a few bumps and scraps from the crash. But mentally…

He kept picturing Apollo as he had last seen him, beaten, smothered, and only half-conscious. And all of that was before the bomb. He had heard from the Chief Prosecutor that Blackquill had raced back and plunged into the building, but… that was it.

Then Brooks had insisted he get medical attention, so here they were.

"Agent Brooks, if Apollo didn't make it through that…" Clay began. The woman quickly looked down at the young man. His head was bowed, and he was staring at the ground.

"None of that was your fault," Brooks said sternly, worried about the young man. "Besides, from what I've heard, Prosecutor Blackquill wouldn't have let a little fire stop him from his goal."

"Yeah, but—" Clay started.

"No buts. Let's get you looked at," the woman said, leading him over to the doctor waiting for him.

With how shaken Clay was, the examination took a bit longer than usual. But finally, they finished.

As the doctor pulled the curtain back, a group of nurses and doctors rushed by, surrounding a stretcher.

Trailing behind them at a much slower pace was Simon Blackquill. His hair was singed, there were burn marks all over his jacket, and he kept his hands hidden in his pockets, but he otherwise looked okay. Horror crossed Clay's face as he looked back at the stretcher that was just disappearing through the doors leading to the OR, only just catching a glimpse of brown hair. He then rushed the prosecutor, who was just getting checked on by a doctor.

"Prosecutor Blackquill!" he called, getting the man's attention. "Was that just Apollo? What happened?" he demanded.

"Ah, Terran. Welcome back to the land of the living," the man said. He glanced up at the doors as well. "Yes, that was Justice-dono. After I found him, we were buried by flaming debris. Thankfully, our cries had lead the fire fighters right to us, and they got us out. Unfortunately, Justice-dono had fallen unconscious after that. They're going to check him over and run tests now," Blackquill explained. Clay seemed to sag slightly at that.

"Please be okay, Apollo…" he muttered.

…

After what seemed like hours, Clay, along with Thalassa, Zeus, Trucy, Phoenix, and Ema were allowed into Apollo's room. His leg was set and raised slightly, and there were bandages covering him, along with wires. He also had an oxygen mask placed over his mouth and nose, helping him breath, which he was still struggling to do, even after getting to the hospital.

They were silent for a bit, watching the young man in the hospital bed, before Ema finally looked up at Clay.

"I'm… sorry," she finally said. Clay, taken aback, turned to the woman.

"Um, for what?" he asked.

"Hitting you. And yelling at you," she said. Clay thought back for a moment before chuckling slightly.

"Don't worry about it. I mean, I completely forgot about it, to be honest," he said. Ema smiled slightly at that, before turning back to her fiancée, taking his hand. Thalassa had already claimed his other hand, and was gently stroking his hair.

A moment later, the door opened once more, and Simon Blackquill entered. He was still wearing the damaged jacket, but his hands and the back of his neck was bandaged from where he'd been burned by the collapsing ceiling and subsequent attempt at digging them out.

Before anyone could say anything, Thalassa rose gracefully to her feet and dashed over to the prosecutor, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you, Mr. Blackquill. If you hadn't been there…" the woman trailed off, shaking her head. Blackquill awkwardly patted her back.

"Thanks… Black…quill…" a faint, ragged voice suddenly said from the bed. Everyone quickly turned towards it to see Apollo awake. His eyes were opened slightly, and he was using his free hand to hold the mask away from his mouth.

"Sweetie! You're awake!" Thalassa cried, rushing back to her son's side. Blackquill smirked, walking over and standing at the foot of the attorney's bed.

"Welcome back, Justice-dono." He glanced at everyone in the room. "It seems as though you had a lot of people worried."

"Heh," Apollo chuckled breathlessly, replacing the mask over his mouth and closing his eyes. Everyone watched him for a few minutes, thinking he had slipped back into sleep, before he opened his eyes and pulled the mask away again. "Why… though…?" he asked, looking at Blackquill pointedly. The man instantly understood his question.

"I gave my word to your mother and father, Justice-dono, and a samurai is only as good as his word," Blackquill said, placing a fist over his heart, just as he did when he gave Thalassa his word that he would save Apollo. Apollo smiled at that, putting the mask over his face again. He then looked around at everyone else in the room, until his eyes fell on Clay.

'Clay,' he mouthed, looking at him. Clay smiled weakly.

"Hey, Apollo," he said, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. Apollo squeezed his eyes shut tightly, then opened them again. Clay was still standing there. So, he reached up once again and moved the oxygen mask.

"…Where… How…?" he asked. Clay smiled sadly and quickly explained to him what Edgeworth and Brooks had explained to Phoenix earlier. He then looked down with a sad sigh. "Although… now I'll probably have to move again… get a new identity… everything…" he muttered, thinking over everything that just happened. His mind then jumped to the life he had built as Kaolin Loam: working at Prime Airy High School, the astrology club he had started, the friends he made, his students… Chelsea. He looked up to see Apollo's dismayed eyes staring at him.

Blackquill suddenly cleared his throat, catching the attention of everyone. "Actually, Terran, you are now officially under the protection of Interpol. Now that STARC knows you're alive, the US Marshals will be unable to protect you. Agent Brooks and Agent Wolf-man have already discussed the specifics. I… happened to overhear," he added with a smirk.

"'Wolf-man'?" Phoenix asked.

"He probably means Lang," Ema said with a giggle. Blackquill nodded slightly in her direction.

"Which means, while you'll probably have to move closer to Interpol's headquarters, a new identity would be unnecessary," Blackquill added. "I'm sure Brooks and Wolf-man will discuss it more with you at a later date."

"Great!" Clay said with a bright grin.

…

"So. That's what STARC is all about. No wonder they attacked the HAT missions," Edgeworth sighed, having just learned about the international terrorist group from Agent Lang. "'Space Travel and Research Control'… if they were to live up to their name, that would give them quite a bit of power."

"Exactly," Lang said.

"And… why exactly are you tell me all of this?" Edgeworth asked, finally looking up at the man. "I'm sure it's classified."

"Because there are at least two people who work under you that I want to include in an elite force tasked with taking down STARC," Lang announced. Edgeworth leaned forward in interest.

"Oh?"

"The first is Prosecutor Simon Blackquill. He studied The Phantom for years, even while in prison, and continued to question the man these past eight years. Besides that, his skills and knowledge with psychology makes him quite invaluable," Lang said.

"Alright. That's fine, so long as he agrees, of course," Edgeworth said, making a note. "And the other?"

"Your Legal Aid, Kay Faraday, and her charge, Robin Trio," Lang said. Edgeworth looked up at him sharply.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"I know they are short a leg, but the skill set of the Yatagarasu would be greatly needed on the team," Lang said, studying the prosecutor in front of him. Miles Edgeworth had a deep frown on his face. He didn't make attachments quickly, not by a long shot, but Kay was that rare except – and Robin, by extension. But, he knew, both were adults and could make their own choices.

He heaved a deep sigh.

"Alright," he finally said. "And Mr. Terran?"

"He will be under Interpol protection, and will be allowed to continue the life he started as Kaolin Loam. And, perhaps, I can get him to help this new team as well," Lang said.

…

Later that night, Clay, along with an Interpol escort, finally made it home. To his surprise, he found Chelsea sitting on his doorstep. The Interpol agent froze, glaring at the woman, his hand on his weapon.

"Whoa! It's okay," Clay said. "She's a friend."

"Well, alright," the man said. He did a quick sweep of the yard, before going over to his car and getting in. Clay sighed. _(That'll take some getting used to…)_ he thought, turning back to the woman. "Hey, Chelsea. Erm, wanna come in?" he asked. The woman smiled slightly.

"Are you sure your body guard will be okay with that?" she asked.

"He'll have to be," Clay replied, unlocking his door. The woman nodded and stood, following Clay inside.

"So," Chelsea sighed, looking down. Clay glanced over at her. "Are you going to have to leave?"

"No," Clay sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. "I'm no longer in the Witness Protection Program. I'm under Interpol's protection now."

"Right," she said, falling quiet. Seconds of awkward silence stretched between them, before she finally sighed. "Agent Brooks told me everything," she said softly. Clay winced.

"Chelsea, I am so sorry. I—" he began to say, only to be cut off by Chelsea's lips pressed against his. A moment later, she pulled back and smiled at him.

"It's okay," she said softly. "It explains everything."

"Heh. I'm sure," Clay said softly. Chelsea grinned at him.

"I like Clay Terran better then Kaolin Loam, anyway. It fits you better," she teased. Clay laughed before kissing her once again.

…

 **A/N:** Finally… the end…

And if it wasn't obvious… yes. There will be a sequel. I just… don't know when, heh.


End file.
